Athletics at Cabrini

The St. Frances Cabrini Academy Sponsors Club is a volunteer organization that plans and administers the athletics program for St. Frances Cabrini Academy. The organization meets the last Wednesday of each month at Cabrini at 7:30 p.m.

Sports
St. Frances Cabrini routinely fields teams that compete in leagues sponsored by the St. Louis Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Council (CYC) in the following sports: soccer, basketball, and baseball, as well as softball and volleyball.

Soccer - Soccer is offered for boys and girls in the fall; practices start in August. Since the school's inception, there have been soccer teams at virtually all grade levels. Practices and games for soccer and other outdoor sports are held in Tower Grove Park, Cherokee Park, or other South St. Louis parks.

Volleyball - The volleyball season is played in the fall. Cabrini is hoping to form more volleyball teams in the future, now that the gymnasium has volleyball standards.

Basketball - The basketball season for boys and girls begins around Christmas, with practices usually starting in late November. Practices are held in the Cabrini gymnasium.

Baseball / Softball / T-Ball - These sports are played in the spring. (St. Pius V's school, which merged with Notre Dame Elementary to form Cabrini Academy, has a baseball "claim to fame": One of its former players, Joe Simokaitis, went on to play baseball in high school and college-for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In 2005, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs organization.)

Fees
The Sponsors Club strives to keep fees low, though it can be expensive to field teams. For the 2012 basketball season, the cost was almost $350 for each of Cabrini's nine teams. Each year, families have the option of paying a "family fee" of $75, which covers participation of all children for that particular sport. If a child plays only one sport, the fee is $30. In addition, there is a uniform deposit fee of $25 for each sport on 5th to 8th grade teams. For 4th grade and below, players wear matching t-shirts and shorts, sold at school for $7 each.

Allowances are made for families who find the sports fees a barrier to their children playing sports. The fees can be waived, reduced, or paid in installments by discussing the situation with the Principal. In the past, the Sponsors Club has had the resources to help financially needy students. We want all Cabrini students to play and will work with families so that money is not an impediment.

Teams
Coaches are typically the parents of students on the team, or even former school parents and other adults with sports expertise and a strong appreciation for the school's mission. Practices usually are twice per week before the season starts, and then once per week when the games begin.

Kindergarten through 2nd grade teams play in the Instructional Judge Dowd League, in which there are no standings, play-offs, or first-place trophies. The clear emphasis at Cabrini at these levels is encouragement and instruction, not "winning" to get a trophy or a banner.

For 3rd grade and up, a decision is made as to whether a team should enter in a "major" or "minor" division of CYC competition. These decisions are based on the number of players and their experience level. There is no attempt to gerrymander rosters so that only certain players are on certain teams.

Trivia Night
A Trivia Night is held once a year to support the Sponsors Club. Please check out our Trivia Night page to find out more information. Trivia Night

Mission & Goals
The Cabrini sports program is fueled by the diversity and energy of its student body. Given the opportunity to participate, practice, and play, Cabrini students can compete in the best sense of the word. The Sponsors Club's mission is to make those opportunities possible for all our students.

Admittedly, we see Cabrini's program as different from the typical sports program, which we consider a good thing. The atmosphere that the Sponsors Club strives for is much different from the "select" team approach: That is, there are no try-outs and children are not cut from teams for lack of physical ability. Children sign up for a team, a suitable coach is found, and a team is formed. The goals of Cabrini's sports program are simply to plan and coach teams well so that children will

learn and enjoy the game

become physically fit and mentally alert

gain confidence and sportsmanship from competition

and experience camaraderie, self-respect, and respect for others by belonging to a team.

History
The Sponsors Club is group of a Cabrini school parents and other involved adults. It is an outgrowth of the St. Pius V Sponsors Club, after St. Pius's elementary school closed and merged with Notre Dame Elementary to form St. Frances Cabrini Academy in 2003.

Other Policies
Even though Cabrini draws on old, established parishes, in many ways it is a new school. So is its sports program. In the world of CYC elementary school sports, Cabrini could be considered an expansion team. Because Cabrini is a relatively small school, it has favorable teacher-to-student and coach-to-player ratios. This structure allows students to play their sports more fully (as opposed to spending time sitting on the bench), but occasionally there are times when not enough students have signed up for a given team. In those cases, the Sponsors Club may do one or more of the following:

combine students in two grades to form one team (which plays at the upper grade level)

recruit eligible students from other schools to supplement Cabrini's team

match up a Cabrini student (or students) with another school's team

Structure
The officers of the Sponsors Club (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and Athletic Director plan and coordinate events and policies, under the auspices of Cabrini Academy's Advisory Council. The Sponsors Club holds fundraisers to help support Cabrini's teams. An annual trivia night is the main fundraiser, usually held in November. Parents are encouraged to volunteer to help at these events, to coach teams, or assist coaches. T he Sponsors Club meets once per month on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Cabrini. Parents can earn service hours required by the school by participating in Sponsors Club activities.